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Guinea pig weight

Nadsgirl75

Nadsgirl75

Junior Guinea Pig
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Jun 28, 2018
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Hi - I have just joined the forum today to ask some advice. I got my 2 lovely piggies about 3 weeks so I think they are approx 11-12 weeks old. They are from the same litter, 2 boys and seem to be bonding well. My concern is that they do feel a little bony. They eat fresh hay all day long, they have a generous portions of greens each day and they have around 50g grams of Burgess pellets each day too. They never stop eating. I weighed them today and they both weigh around 400grams. Is this normal? They are really active and happy, popcorning all over the place, they love to be held and ar happy to take food from my hand already. Just worried they seem thin but I also worry if I feed them anymore they will burst!
 
Nadsgirl75 said:
Hi - I have just joined the forum today to ask some advice. I got my 2 lovely piggies about 3 weeks so I think they are approx 11-12 weeks old. They are from the same litter, 2 boys and seem to be bonding well. My concern is that they do feel a little bony. They eat fresh hay all day long, they have a generous portions of greens each day and they have around 50g grams of Burgess pellets each day too. They never stop eating. I weighed them today and they both weigh around 400grams. Is this normal? They are really active and happy, popcorning all over the place, they love to be held and ar happy to take food from my hand already. Just worried they seem thin but I also worry if I feed them anymore they will burst!
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Young piggies feel a little more bony because they are growing fast. The weight is not worryingly low, so you can reduce the amount of pellets you feed to encourage them (to about 2 tablespoons full, 1 tablespoon is what is recommended for mostly grown piggies over 6 months old) to eat as much hay as possible (over 80% of the daily food intake), which is much healthier for dental health and longevity than overfeeding pellets (which contain lots of fillers) and too much veg (which can lead to fermentation in the gut). Your two boys have still got a full year before they reach adulthood and plenty of time to realise their genetically determined optimal weight and size.

Opt for a healthy diet instead of overfeeding on pellets and veg. My own adopted or in one case home-born surprise babies have been on an adult diet from 4-5 weeks onwards and have become healthy adults themselves. The oldest three currently turning 7 years old, which is at the upper end of the average life span. ;)
Your boys may take a little longer when growing but they will make that up with having a better chance at living longer and being overall healthier. ;)
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

These guides are part of our new owners' guide collection, which specifically addresses the most often asked for issues by new owners and also include guides to learn what is normal and what not and how to minimise avoidable problems in the future: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
 
Thanks very much. You get so much conflicting advice I thought it would be more useful to talk to people who have direct experience. I will reduce the amounts of pellets, but what would you recommend in terms of vegetables?

They do already eat a lot of hay but I have noticed if there is veg available the hay is no longer attractive!
 
Nadsgirl75 said:
Thanks very much. You get so much conflicting advice I thought it would be more useful to talk to people who have direct experience. I will reduce the amounts of pellets, but what would you recommend in terms of vegetables?

They do already eat a lot of hay but I have noticed if there is veg available the hay is no longer attractive!
Click to expand...

Please read the diet links in my last post. The diet guide looks in detail at all food groups, gives feeding tips to encourage hay feeding and also contains a sample veg diet (withpicture) as well as a list what veg you can feed how often and how much. I can't list that all in one post since it has taken me several days to write that guide in the first place! ;)
 
At the same age of 11- 12 weeks (2 weeks after we first got our lady piggies), Puggle weighed 390g and looked and felt quite bony. Piggle weighed 430g and looked and felt much more chunky. Now they are...19 or 20 weeks old? They are both much more solid and muscular. Piggle is almost 1kg (which I think is rather chunky for her age) and Puggle weighs about 800g. Its surprising how quickly they bulk up eating mostly hay and salad veg! Mine dont bother much with pellets but I put a small handful (about 3 tablespoons?) of grain free timothy hay based pellets in the food dish every day in case they want them.
 
Mine will go for veggies in preference to hay but then spend the rest of their time grazing the hay.

Welcome to the forum.
Please post lots of pics - we love seeing pics of each other's piggies
 
PigglePuggle said:
At the same age of 11- 12 weeks (2 weeks after we first got our lady piggies), Puggle weighed 390g and looked and felt quite bony. Piggle weighed 430g and looked and felt much more chunky. Now they are...19 or 20 weeks old? They are both much more solid and muscular. Piggle is almost 1kg (which I think is rather chunky for her age) and Puggle weighs about 800g. Its surprising how quickly they bulk up eating mostly hay and salad veg! Mine dont bother much with pellets but I put a small handful (about 3 tablespoons?) of grain free timothy hay based pellets in the food dish every day in case they want them.
Click to expand...
PigglePuggle said:
At the same age of 11- 12 weeks (2 weeks after we first got our lady piggies), Puggle weighed 390g and looked and felt quite bony. Piggle weighed 430g and looked and felt much more chunky. Now they are...19 or 20 weeks old? They are both much more solid and muscular. Piggle is almost 1kg (which I think is rather chunky for her age) and Puggle weighs about 800g. Its surprising how quickly they bulk up eating mostly hay and salad veg! Mine dont bother much with pellets but I put a small handful (about 3 tablespoons?) of grain free timothy hay based pellets in the food dish every day in case they want them.
Click to expand...
Really reassuring, thanks so much.
 
Mickey makes some funny noises... like
Sneezing but it’s not a sneeze. Just expelling air from his nose or mouth... he does it a lot but doesn’t seem to be angry when he’s doing it. Any ideas?
 
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